The present invention relates generally to a load carriers used in the transportation of articles such as sport equipment pieces, and more specifically to a releasably securable binding device for securing a portion of an article such as a bicycle to the load carrier frame which is typically configured to be mounted on a transporting vehicle.
Transportation of equipment, especially sports equipment, such as one or more bicycles, often involves the use of a portable load carrier frame attached at a hitch mount to the rear of a carrying vehicle. With advancements in design and related cost escalations for sports equipment, such as lightweight racing bicycles or ruggedly built mountain bikes, the security of attachment of these objects to a carrier frame has become a primary ownership consideration. The possibility of detachment of an expensive bicycle from a load carrier increases when the carrying vehicle travels over rough terrain. Any potential weakness associated with the means utilized to secure equipment to the load carrier frame could result in damage to the equipment either by falling from the frame or becoming sufficiently loose to collide with the frame or the carrying vehicle. Obviously, the securement of the sports equipment to the load carrier is of utmost importance to the operator, but ease of use is also an important consideration in the mind of the consumer.
It is known to use flexible securement straps adhesively bonded to a receiving cradle of a load carrier frame. Such straps represent a simple, low cost option for equipment attachment. Such straps are intended to be wrapped around a portion of the equipment and then secured until intentionally released. Over a period of time, the adhesive used to attach the such straps to the load carrier ages and may become brittle enough for bond failure to occur between the strap and the cradle. Also, repeated use of an adhesively bonded strap to secure and remove equipment from a carrier frame can result in weakening of this bond. If this occurs, the strap will no longer be effective for securing the equipment to the carrier frame and this can lead to damage, possibly severe, to the carried sports equipment.
In view of the above described deficiencies associated with the use of known designs for equipment binding and securement devices, the present invention has been developed to alleviate these drawbacks and provide further benefits to the user. These enhancements and benefits are described in greater detail hereinbelow with respect to several alternative embodiments of the present invention.
The present invention, in its several disclosed embodiments, alleviates the drawbacks described above with respect to conventionally designed binding devices and incorporates several additionally beneficial features.
A binding or securement device constructed according to the present invention includes a recessed support tray or bracket and a conformable securement strap that has several design features included that reduce down to two the actual number of parts required for such a binding device or securement strap to perform appropriately. The conformable strap may be formed from a flexible material such as fabric, rubber or plastic that has sufficient strength and resiliency to bind and secure an article placed in the recessed tray or channeled support bracket. Preferably the conformable strap comprises a soft flexible webbing or belting material to bind a secured article without scratching or otherwise damaging the article.
One end of the flexible strap is tapered for easy insertion and passage through a slot formed in a sidewall of the support bracket. This tapered end may be referred to as the insertable end of the strap. The surfaces on either side of the insertable end have differing characteristics. One surface is essentially planar while the other surface is at least partially covered with releasable securement members such as one component of a hook-and-loop connector.
The opposite end of the strap from the insertable end has a configuration providing a segment of greater thickness than other portions of the strap which are otherwise of essentially uniform thickness. Increasing the thickness of this end section provides a enlarged and impassable end of the conformable strap. In one embodiment of the invention the thickened or enlarged end may be formed by simply folding and securing an end section of the strap upon itself to provide an enlarged end having at least twice the thickness of the opposite insertable end of the strap.
Another embodiment includes a wedge profile increasing in thickness towards the extremity of the enlarged end of the conformable strap opposite the insertable end. Yet another embodiment includes at least one transverse extension projecting from one or both of the sides or edges at the enlarged end. Other forms of increasing the thickness of the enlarged end may be used, provided that features of this enlarged end cause interference with the slot formed in the sidewall of the support bracket to prevent the enlarged end from passing through the slot.
Between the insertable end and the enlarged end of the conformable strap lies a length of flexible material sufficient to be wrapped around the recessed support bracket; preferably, the length of the strap is sufficient that several wraps about the bracket are possible for added security. At least one of the surfaces of the length of flexible material is predominantly covered with releasable securement members such as one component of a hook-and-loop connector. This type of covering is preferably formed on the side of the length of flexible material opposite the side supporting the projections associated with the insertable end of the conformable strap. The relative positioning between the mating components of the releasable securement members of the hook-and-loop connector causes their proper face-to-face orientation when the strap is appropriately wrapped about the support bracket and ultimately upon itself. Under application of some engaging pressure by the operator, the two matingly engageable components of the exemplary hook-and-loop connector are releasably interlocked to secure the insertable and loose end of the strap to another portion of the length of flexible material.
The simplicity of the two part binding device of the present invention allows quick securement and release of objects to and from the support bracket. Such objects have suitable size to initially fit in the recess or channel of the support bracket and be held therein by overlapping the object with the conformable strap which is ultimately fastened upon itself by engagement of the releasable securement components. The addition of tension into the strap by an operator for the purpose of increasing the securement characteristic of the strap over an article to be secured results from catching the enlarged end of the conformable strap within a slot cut in the support bracket and pulling tightly on the free distal end. This is achieved by threading the insertable end of the strap into the slot in the sidewall of the support bracket and drawing the strap through the slot until prevention of further relative movement is caused by the impingement of the thicker enlarged end of the strap against the bracket about the slot. This anchors the enlarged end of the strap to the support bracket so that it may be stretched and pulled tight as it is wrapped around an object thereby increasing tension within the strap and resultingly the securement force of the strap upon the object, such as a bicycle to be secured upon a load carrier. When using releasable hook-and-loop connector assemblies, release of the strap simply involves operator separation of the opposed interlocking surfaces.
Since the support bracket typically comprises a rigid material, objects held within the binding clamp of the invention may be subject to scratching or denting. Attachment of a buffering lining inside the bracket prevents such undesirable occurrences. As illustrated, this buffering element may be provided in the form of a rubber matting which is maintained between the support bracket and the carried item, such as a bicycle.
In at least one embodiment, the present invention takes the form of a device for removably securing an article, having a elongate section, to a portable frame or load carrier designed to be connected upon a transporting vehicle. The device includes an elongate support structure having an inner surface and an outer surface and opposite distal ends. The support structure has a floor and sidewalls that extend above the floor to form a channel open at the two distal ends thereof. The sidewalls include at least one slot cut therethrough and oriented parallel to the longitudinal axis of the floor. A conformable strap is also utilized that has a first and second side surfaces, an insertable end and an enlarged end separated from the insertable end by a mid-section composed of a length of flexible strap material. The conformable strap has a plurality of binding elements on the first side and a plurality of contact elements disposed on the second side of the strap at the insertable end. In a preferred embodiment, these binding and contact elements take the form of releasable securement members such as engageable components of a hook-and-loop connector assembly.
In use, the strap is passed through the slot from an interior region of the support structure so that the insertable end and a majority of the length of the flexible strap are positioned exteriorly to the other surface of the elongate structure and the enlarged end of the strap is abutting the area of the support about the slot since the enlarged end of the strap is sized to exceed the dimensions of the slot and resist passage therethrough.
As used herein the term support bracket may also be described as an elongate structure or a bracket or cradle or brace. The term binding device may be replaced by the term binding clamp. Further, the term projection or projections may be replaced by the words contact elements. Still further, it should be appreciated that the invention may be characterized as only including the flexible strap and its constituent components, with the support structure with which such a strap cooperates being an optional additional component.
The beneficial effects described above apply generally to the exemplary devices and mechanisms disclosed herein for a releasable securement device. The specific structures through which these benefits are delivered will be described in detail hereinbelow.